. >> officials now say speaker john boehner's phone call to president obama was tense, hopes of a possible deal seem to be fading fast. >> i remain the most optimistic person in this town, but we've got some serious differences. >> the biggest difference is over taxes. republicans complain in an interview with abc news the president made it harder for boehner to sell compromise to republicans by saying the only way to go forward is for the speaker to cave. >> i'm confident republicans would not hold middle class taxes hostage to try to protect the tax cuts for high-income individuals. >> white house officials today incested the president was merely reiterating a long-held position and said the hold up is the republicans failing to get specific about taxes. >> closing loopholeles they will not name, capping deductions that they will not specify sometime in the future. those magic beans are just beans. that fairy dust is just dust. >> boehner fired back the real problem is the president's latest proposal offered in private on monday is light on spending cuts and only dropping his request on